Hanabusa, a well-known Japanese restaurant, sits closer to Ueno or Okachimachi than to Akihabara, really. Dinner here is excellent, but the place has a big reputation for its 1,000-yen lunch set, which changes often.
Side dishes
Simple and modest.
Simmered sea bream head
I didn’t try it, so I can’t say how it tasted, but the fish seems to change from day to day.
Simmered Spanish mackerel
It’s been simmered down nice and rich, meant to be eaten with rice. The flavour of the Spanish mackerel really comes through. It’s good value at 1,000 yen, but the portion felt a little small to me. Good thing I’d had cake beforehand, or I’d have been in trouble..
Dessert
It’s oshiruko, sweet red bean soup, and it’s delicious.
The cooking changes with whatever fish comes in that day, and they say items like salt-grilled seasonal buri (yellowtail) are fantastic. There was no buri the day I went, which was a shame, but the Spanish mackerel was more than good enough. Whether there’s a way to order one more dish on top, I’ll have to ask next time ^_^
AKB48 Cafe
Wandering around Akihabara, I found this place had sprung up too. I’m not particularly into AKB, but apparently they’re doing this well.